Air flow control device



Dec. 8, 1959 J. l. MORRISON 2,915,956

AIR FLOW CONTROL DEVICE Filed Sept. 26, 1956 2 Sheet-Sheet 1 INVENT OR.

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Dec. 8, 1959 J. MORRISON AIR FLOW CONTROL DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 26, 1956 INVENTOR.

United States PatentQ This invention relates to an air flow control device and, more particularly, to a device adapted for use with a source of forced air to effect controlled discharge of such air over a predetermined area.

In the heating and/or air-conditioning field, the prob- I lem of effecting proper temperature control in but a relatively small segment of given large area, oftentimes becomes a most perplexing one, particularly where the area as a whole is subjected to abrupt temperature changes. A typical example of where such a problem exists is in the assembly room of a factory which is normally possessed of a high ceiling and has several passageways or doorways leading to loading platforms or the like. Because of the largeness of such a room, and the fact that such doorways are oftentimes opened for prolonged periods of time, effective heating or cooling the entire area becomes highly impractical.

Attempts to solve this problem have heretofore been made by the utilization of a plurality of space heaters or coolers. This latter apparatus, however, has not proved successful because of the lack of controlling the output from such apparatus so as to provide comfort to the personnel located in a particular area, the relatively large output required of such apparatus thereby materially increasing the maintenance and operational costs thereof, and the complex, and oftentimes delicate, character of such apparatus. 2

Thus, it is one of the objects of this invention to provide an air flow control device which effectively overcomes the difficulties heretofore experienced in cooling or heating but a small selected segment of a larger area.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an air flow control device which is adaptable for use in a variety of installations without requiring extensive and costly modifications.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an air flow control device which is capable of manual or automatic operation.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an air flow control device which is simple, yet sturdy in construction, easily serviced and maintained, efficient in operation and inexpensive to produce.

Further and additional objects will appear from the description, accompanying drawings and appended claims.

In accordance with one embodiment of this invention, an air flow control device is provided for use with an air impelling unit. The device comprises an air flow directing first means communicating with the discharge side of said unit and is mounted for movement about a subst-antially vertical axis. One side of said first means is open to permit discharge of the air therethrough. This open side of said first means is angularly disposed with respect to the axis about which the latter moves. Cooperating with the first means and controlling the movement thereof about the given axis to effect discharge of the air over a predetermined area, is an ad ustable second means.

For a more complete understanding of thisinvention reference should be made to the drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partially in section, of one form of the improved device.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary left end view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 55 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, one form of the improved air flow control device 10 is shown for use in combination with a blower 11 having the outlet side 12 of the blower casing in this instance extending vertically upwardly through a suitable opening 13 formed in a housing 14; the latter having disposed therein, in addition to blower 11, either an air cooling and/or heating unit. The discharge side 12 of the blower casing is provided with an annular peripheral collar 15, which "is adapted to be secured by a plurality of symmetrically arranged screws or bolts 16 to the circumjacent portion of the housing 14. As seen in Fig. 4, the projecting portion of the discharge side 12 of the blower casing has disposed centrally therein a vertically extending bearing 17, which is maintained in a stationary position therein by a plurality of supporting vanes 18, which are affixed to the blower casing and extend inwardly therefrom to the bearing. The bearing 17 has the upper end thereof open to receive a vertically extending supporting shaft 20, which is adapted to rotate about its longitudinal axis. Extending transversely from the upper end of shaft 29 are a plurality of supporting fingers 21, which have their outer ends riveted or otherwise secured to the interior surface of a hood 22. The hood 22 may, if desired, vary in shape and size from that shown. One side 23 of the hood 22 is open to effect discharge of the air circulated therethrough by the blower 11. The open side 23 is disposed substantially parallel to shaft 20. The lower surface 24 of the hood 22 is provided with an enlarged opening 25 through which the projecting portion of the discharge side of the blower casing extends. Suitable clearance is provided between the opening 25 and the blower casing, for a purpose to be hereinafter more fully explained.

Disposed within the discharge end 23 of hood 22 and within the discharged air stream is an airfoil 26 mounted for pivotal movement about a shaft 27; the latter, in this instance, extending completely across the end 23 and having the longitudinal axis thereof disposed in a substantially vertical direction. Secured to and extending transversely from one side of shaft 27 is an elongated baffle plate or louver 28. It will be noted from the drawing that the planar surfaces of the baffle 28, are disposed upstream with respect to the shaft 27, for a reason which will become evident hereinafter. Afiixed to and projecting downwardly from the lower edge of plate 28 is a pin or lug 30 which extends through an arcuate slot 31 formed in the lower side 24 of hood 22 (see Fig. 3). The center of curvature of slot 31 is coaxial with shaft 27. The pin 30 is adapted to separately engage relatively spaced stop elements 32a and 32b which are arranged in relatively fixed position with respect to the movable hood 22. In the form of the device shown the stop elements 32a and 32b are secured directly to the upwardly projecting portion of the blower casing, as seen more clearly in Fig. 4. Each stop element is of substantially the same construction and has one end thereof 33 turned back to form a hanger loop which accommodates the edge of the blower casing. A locking screw 34 is threaded into the hanger the stop element in a relatively fixed position thereon.

Upon loosening of the screw 34, the stop element may be'moved' relative to theblower casing, for a purpose to be hereinafter more fully explained. The other end 33. of thestop element projects outwardly from the blower casing into the path of movement of pin 30. By reason of the relatively fixed position of the stop elements 32a and 32b with respectito the movable hood 22 which carries the airfoil '26, the pin. 30 forming a part of the airfoil 26 will contact one of the stop elements and by reason of the momentum of the movable hood, when moving in one direction, the baffle 28 will be pivoted about shaft 27 to a changed position of pivotal adjustment. When baffle 28 assumes the changed, position, the flow of the air through the hood in the direction of the arrow A, shown in Fig. 4, will react with the planar surface of the bafllle plate 28, exposed to the air flow, and cause the hood, carrying the baffle, to rotate in one direction about shaft 20. Depending upon the relative spacing of elements 32a and 32b, the hood 22 will continue to move in one relative direction about shaft 20, until the baffle plate 28 assumes a changed position, upon pin 30 striking the other stop element. a

As shown in Fig. 3, there are disposed within slot 31 a pair of relatively spaced pieces 35, between which the baffle plate 28 is permitted to rotate about shaft 27. The purpose of pieces 35, which are independently adjustable within the slot 31, is to confine the extent of movement of plate 28 about shaft 27 and, thus, control the speed of movement of hood 22 about shaft 20. By confining the movement of plate 28 to a relatively small sector about shaft 27, the speed of movement of the hood about axis 20 will be relatively slow, whereas wider spacing between pieces 35 will have the reverse effect. Thus, by adjusting the pieces 35 individually or together, many variations in speed of the hood about shaft 20 may be accomplished, to suit the particular condition.

Where, for example, it is desired to have the hood 22 rotate continuously in one direction about shaft 20, the stop elements 32a and 32b are omitted and pieces 35 are disposed so asto simultaneously contact the planar surfaces of baffle plate 28 and, thus, hold the latter in one position of adjustment with respect to shaft 27.

Thus, by adjusting pieces 35 and stop elements 32a and 32b, one may readily control the area in which the air passing through hood 22 is to be discharged.

While the control device 10, in one form, is shown in combination with a blower and housing for a heating or cooling apparatus, it is to be-readily understood that such device may be incorporated at an outlet of a duct system to confine the discharge of air through said outlet to a given area. Furthermore, it is to be understood that various forms of stop elements 32a and 32b may be utilized a (without departing from the scope of this invention); for

example, the elements may be mounted directly on the surface of the housing 14.

Thus, it will be seen that an air flow control device is provided which effectively distributes forced air to a well defined area and which is of relatively simple and inexpensive construction and yet permits automatic trouble-free operation thereof.

While several embodiments of this invention are shown and described above, it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not to be limited thereto, since many additionalmodifications may be made and it is contemplated, therefore, by the appended claims, to cover any such modifications as-fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim: I

1. A device of the class described comprising a source of fluid under pressure, conduit means for conducting said fluid under pressure from said source, a hood having an inlet in communication with said fluid under pressure rotatably mounted on one end of said conduit, said hood having an outlet angularly disposed to said inlet,

said hood being mounted for rotary movement about a substantially vertical axis coincident with the central axis of said hood inlet, first spaced adjustable stop means mounted on said conduit means and disposed in the path of said hood rotary movement for limiting the rotary movement thereof, a shaft journalled in opposedportions of said hood outlet, anfairfoil secured to said shaft and disposed parallel to the hood axis of rotation, said airfoil having a distal longitudinal edge for pivoting through an are disposed awayfrom said shaft in the, direction of said hood axis of rotation whereby said foil &

is always disposed upstream of and in the path of said fluid flow and said foil distal edge is always disposedin the direction of said hood movement, second adjustable stop means for said foil means secured to said hood and straddling said foil for limiting the pivotal movement thereof, said airfoil also having a projecting portion extending exteriorly of said hood, said first spaced stop means adapted to engage said airfoil projecting portion at an end limit of said hood rotary movement, reversing the direction of said airfoil and stopping the rotary move- ,hood being mounted for rotarymovement about a sub- 7 stantially vertical axis coincident with the central axis of said hood inlet, first spaced adjustable stop means mounted on said conduit and disposed in the path of said hood rotary movement, a shaft journalled in opposed upper and lower substantially planar portions of said hood outlet, an airfoil secured to said shaft and disposed parallel to the hood axis of rotation, and having a distal longitudinal edge pivoting through an are disposed away from said shaft in the direction of said hood axis of rotation whereby said foil is always disposed upstream of and in the path of said fluid flow and said foil distal edge is always disposed in the direction of hood movement, said hood having an arcuate slot formed in the lower planar portion of said hood outlet, secondadjustable stop means for said foil means secured to said hood slotted portion and straddling said foil for engaging the pivoting airfoil, thereby limiting the pivotal movement thereof, said airfoil having a projecting portion extending through said hood slot to the hood exterior, said airfoil projecting portion engaging said hood first stop means at the end limit of said hood rotary movement whereby said hood is stopped after the direction of said airfoil is reversed.

References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

